Impact of an interactive methodology for ergonomics awareness

Abstract

Ergonomics has demonstrated advancements being proactive in the design of ergonomically suitable environments and promoting awareness of the correct use of the workplace. In such context, ergonomics' role on awareness raising is highlighted, since it provides the individual with a central role in the health education process. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of an interactive program of awareness raising Ergonomics in relation to safety and health knowledge of workers of a textile factory. The sample was selected from a program initiated by the Ergonomics Committee of the company. 328 workers took part in the study (aged 33.94±9.15). Interactive and brief interventions on the following topics were applied: Human Body, Vision, Hearing, Human Movement, Spine, Upper and Lower Limbs. The impact was measured by means of a questionnaire that was created and validated for this study. For the comparison of the score Pre and Post intervention, a paired Student's t-test was used and analyzed in SPSS 19.0 for Windows with a significance of p<0.05. Qualitative questions were categorized and the frequency of information was verified. There was an increase in the total questionnaire score (8.07±1.03 to 8.76±0.50; p<0.001), which demonstrates that the program had a significant impact on workers' knowledge acquisition in relation to health and safety.